All Pictures: Jacob Banta, Courtesy of Sugar Bowl
California’s Sugar Bowl Resort is welcoming again scores of prime freeride athletes for the second version of The Silver Belt competitors. From April 2-4, 2025, over 50 skiers shall be battling it out throughout a qualifier and finals spherical to see who will take residence the coveted trophy this yr.
One of the best half? We’ll be on-site at Sugar Bowl, bringing you all of the motion. Plus, you’ll be able to assist determine who deserves a spot within the freeride historical past books by voting proper right here on FREESKIER.com to your favourite run after the occasion.
The Silver Belt has an extended and storied historical past relationship again to the Nineteen Forties. The competitors has gone by means of many phases, with every iteration trying completely different from the final. After an extended hiatus, Sugar Bowl determined it was time for the occasion to return with a recent look.
Riders should compete in a qualifying spherical, with a choose few shifting on to the finals the place they’ll try to put down their greatest top-to-bottom run. Spearheaded by Sugar Bowl athlete {and professional} skier Xander Guldman, The Silver Belt competitors returned final yr and was met with cries of pleasure from the freeski group.
“I’m so excited to journey and dangle with unbelievable folks at my residence mountain,” Guldman advised FREESKIER. “To share this mountain, and notably the terrain within the Silver Belt gully, with a few of my favourite skiers and snowboarders in a one-of-a-kind athlete-centered occasion is unbelievable. From a hand-built course to athlete judging, each competitor straight contributes to this occasion. Final yr, this shared venture left me feeling nearer to each my residence mountain and the freeride group as a complete.”
The occasion may appear fairly completely different than different conventional competitions, and that’s fully on goal. Guldman defined that the purpose behind this new model of The Silver Belt has all the time been, “to create a low-stress surroundings that facilities round enjoyable and emulates what it feels wish to ski with your mates. As somebody who not skis competitively, this occasion was such a enjoyable technique to stand in a begin gate once more with out having to fret a couple of outcome. I’m excited to see what this yr has in retailer!”
Guldman isn’t the one one who feels the joy surrounding the occasion. This resurgence has sparked a chord all through the group. Sugar Bowl ambassador and 2024 Silver Belt winner Elena Messner defined to us how this competitors is about way over profitable.
“I’ve thought of Sugar Bowl to be my residence since I realized tips on how to ski once I was 4. It’s a place that connects my household, my best mates, and probably the most influential mentors in my life,” stated Messner. “My earliest recollections on the Sugar Bowl Ski Group are standing on the rostrum at Village Corridor, the place I found my dream of turning into an expert skier. Being again on that very same podium final yr, after probably the most enjoyable occasion I’ve ever been a part of, introduced every little thing full circle. I wish to thank Xander Guldman, Sugar Bowl Resort and everybody concerned for creating an occasion filled with alternative, authenticity, and fervour within the ski group.”
Merely put, The Silver Belt competitors is filling a void in aggressive snowboarding. It’s pumping new life into the freeride group at Sugar Bowl and past, and we’re stoked to be alongside for the journey.
Keep tuned to FREESKIER’s social channels as we convey you reside updates this week, and don’t neglect to verify again and vote to your favourite finals rider.
